Breaking New Grounds in Tobacco Control - Voluntary Health ...

of time.. They need to be provided with new
and challenging aspects of key issues related
to tobacco control backed with substantive
local and region-specific evidence. Media
resistance to repetition of tobacco-related
news is also a challenge which needs to be
addressed while strategizing and planning
media events.
Another challenge is the selection of the right
media for sharing “exclusive stories” and
rivalry amongst media houses/personnel for
the same. For instance when the Government
of India deferred the implementation of the
new pictorial health warning from June 1st
to 1st December 2010, the information was
shared immediately with a senior journalist
of a prominent media house for an exclusive
story. As a result the leading national daily
carried an exclusive coverage of the news
in their publication the very next day.This
can be viewed both as a success and an
obstacle. It is a success because a senior
journalist and the country’s leading daily
with the widest circulation, breaks news
on the latest development and features
the issue prominently. However the same
became an obstacle since the journalists
of other national dailies, both English and
vernacular, showed less interest in carrying
the same story, as it was already carried as
an ‘exclusive’ in the leading national daily.
As a result the issue received less focus in
other newspapers.
Future Directions
Research on the volume of coverage of
tobacco issues, particularly compared with
other health topics, firmly establishes
tobacco control as a highly newsworthy
issue in India. News media coverage of
tobacco control could play a significant
impact on tobacco policy and individual
tobacco use. Further work needs to be done
to elucidate the nature of tobacco-related
news coverage and its broader impact on
public health. Research is needed on the
process for producing news coverage on
tobacco issues. The results of this work can,
in turn, inform future efforts of the tobacco
control community pertaining to the news
media, including media advocacy, framing
of key issues, and appropriate use of media
channels in broader policymaking efforts.
This could also help frame news in ways
that are more likely to interest journalists
in tobacco control stories.
Conclusions
The news media represents a key source of
health information for the general public. More
important, it serves as a framing mechanism
for issues surrounding on both sides of
tobacco-related issues. News coverage that
supports tobacco control has been shown
to set the agenda for further change at the
community, state, and national levels.
The major issues covered as news stories in
India include pictorial warnings, taxation
on tobacco products, smoke free, ban on
tobacco advertisements, restriction on sale
of tobacco products to minors, secondhand
smoke and the health hazards of tobacco
usage. The articles on these issues often
show that the majority of stories favour
tobacco control progress, including opinion
pieces. Hence, media plays a key role
in shaping tobacco-related knowledge,
opinions, attitudes, and behaviours among
individuals and within communities.
About the Authors
Binoy Mathew is Media Officer, VHAI
Jaspreet Kaur Pal, is Communications Director,
India, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
n 41
January - March & April - June 2012